Economic valuation of ecosystem services: A new impetus for shellfish restoration

What is an oyster worth? In restaurants along the Gulf of Mexico coast, where most of the U.S. oyster catch is landed these days, a dozen oysters will cost patrons somewhere around US$10. In New York City, one might expect to pay as much as three times that amount for specialty oysters that have been grown in the burgeoning aquaculture industry along the east coast of the U.S. But what is the value of an UNHARVESTED oyster, or an entire reef of oysters for that matter?